by Joseph Masilamany

Three years now since the death of his apostolic vicar Fr. Sim that Pope Francis had wanted to create cardinal, the small local Church continues its journey keeping the faith alive in this Muslim state of Borneo. The contribution of the lively community of Filipino migrants in the life of the three parishes.

 

Kuching (AsiaNews) - The vicariate of Brunei made news for the Church around the world on 25 October 2020, when Pope Francis announced that the then apostolic vicar, Cornelius Sim, had been elevated to the rank of cardinal. It was the first time that a pontiff chose a cardinal from this small Catholic community in Asia which has just 21 thousand faithful.

The consistory was held in St. Peter's Square a month later, on 28 November 2020, but the new cardinal Cornelius Sim could not be present to receive the red hat and ring due to regional travel restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

On that occasion the cardinal insignia was sent from the Vatican to the Apostolic Vicariate of Brunei, in a rare break with the traditions of consistories.

Six months later, however, the vicariate of Brunei would be in the news again, when the newly appointed cardinal Cornelius Sim died on 29 May 2021 at the age of 69. His death occurred in Taiwan, while he was being treated for cancer at a local medical facility.

Since then very little has been said about the vicariate of Brunei, whose apostolic see still remains vacant three years later.

But this small Church continued to tenaciously live its mission led by the vicar general Robert Leong in its three parishes: the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Bandar Seri Begawan, the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Seria and the of St. John the Evangelist in Kuala Belait.

“Nothing important is happening here. We are simply trying to keep the faith alive here,” Fr. tells AsiaNews. Leong, one of the three priests who carry out their ministry in Brunei.

Cardinal Sim - also known as the "baker" for his passion in preparing bread for his parishioners - liked to remember that the diocese's motto is “Duc in altum” (Jesus' phrase: “Put out into the deep”). “We are one of the smallest dioceses in Asia – he recalled.

But we are fortunate to have a sizeable Filipino congregation with us which makes our Church very vibrant. They bring their faith, with popular pious devotions, and greatly enrich us and our faith."

Brunei is a country of just 5,700 square kilometers located entirely on the island of Borneo, which is also home to the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah and Indonesia's Kalimantan.

Populated by 460 thousand inhabitants, its official language is Malay, but English and Chinese are also widely spoken. Brunei is an absolute monarchy led by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. About two thirds of the population are Muslims and Brunei has recently stood out for its adoption of Sharia, which however is applied only to the country's Muslims.

About 10% of the Sultanate's population is atheist, 13% is Buddhist, and a small number practice indigenous faiths or animism.

Christians, half of whom are Catholic, make up 10% of Brunei's core population. The majority of the faithful of the three parishes - around 70% - are made up of immigrant workers from the Philippines. Another 20% are migrants from other countries such as Indonesia, India and Malaysia, while the remaining 10% are indigenous Catholics from Brunei.

It was the Franciscan missionaries in 1587 who were the first to preach the Gospel in Brunei. But a real local Church has only existed since 1997.

Before then, Catholics were served by the diocese of Miri, in Malaysia: for this diocese the same Fr. Sim was ordained a priest in 1989.

When John Paul II established the Apostolic Prefecture of Brunei in 1997, Bishop Sim was appointed prefect. Then in 2004 the apostolic prefecture was elevated to a vicariate, which led to the consecration of Fr. Sim as bishop.

The ceremony took place on January 21, 2005 and was presided over by Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, at the time Vatican ambassador to Brunei and other South-East Asian nations. “It is a humble beginning, now we must move forward to enrich our faith communities.” The Church of Brunei is part of the Bishops' Conference of Malaysia and Singapore.